


as long as i'm here

by No_one_you_know



Series: one hundred miles [3]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Child Abuse, Health Issues, Hurt/Comfort, I really miss bedrock bros, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mentioned Dream SMP Ensemble, Past Child Abuse, Tommy had a really bad time, it gets darker the further it goes, it's not, sorry if you thought the sequel was going to be happy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29893992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/No_one_you_know/pseuds/No_one_you_know
Summary: “I don’t want to go to school. You can’t make me.”“You’ve already missed two months-”“Then I’ll fail freshman year and redo it next year.”“You’re going.” A pile of papers sat in front of Technoblade. Grading, he had said. Apparently he had foregone all of it while setting up Tommy’s room, and was still struggling to catch up on it now. He looked stressed. Which is why Tommy thought it was the perfect time to pester him.“I’m not. You’ll drop me off at school and I’ll leave as soon as you drive away.”Healing isn't linear. Tommy still has trauma from living with Dream, and the longer he stays with Technoblade, the clearer it is to see.
Relationships: Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit
Series: one hundred miles [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2178813
Comments: 90
Kudos: 563





	1. like a pack mule

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel!! Technically you could read it on your own, but it'll make a lot more sense if you read the first book "that's, like, a hundred miles" first.
> 
> Warnings for mentions of child abuse and all the other stuff that came in the first book.
> 
> I took 2 weeks to write the last chapter of hundred miles, and 2 days to write this. yeah, that makes sense.

Tommy was getting on Technoblade’s last nerve. He would love to say that it wasn’t on purpose, but it was.

He had been there for a week and Techno hadn’t punished him once. Sure, Techno hadn’t done that last time, either, but that was because Techno had (by legal standards) kidnapped him. But now Techno didn’t have an excuse not to do anything, so… Why wasn’t he?

The position Tommy was lying in was less than comfortable. Upside down over the back of the couch, his feet dangerously close to Technoblade's head. 

“I don’t want to go to school. You can’t make me.”

“You’ve already missed two months-”

“Then I’ll fail freshman year and redo it next year.”

“You’re not failing freshman year. What I was _going_ to say was that you can’t miss any _more_ school.”

“I’m not going.” He got off the couch. Er, rolled off the couch, just barely managing to not hit Techno with his cast on the way down. Since his crutches were now on the other side of the couch, he decided to just sit in a criss-cross position on the floor instead.

“You’re going.” A pile of papers sat in front of Technoblade. Grading, he had said. Apparently he had foregone all of it when setting up Tommy’s room, and was still struggling to catch up on it now. He looked stressed. Which is why Tommy thought it was the perfect time to pester him.

“I’m not. You’ll drop me off at school and I’ll leave as soon as you drive away.”

Techno sighed. He set the papers to the side, muttering something about investing in a coffee table, and took off his glasses.

Now they were getting somewhere.

“I’ll do it. I’ve skipped school before.” Tommy continued. Sure, the last time he had ditched school was when he was nine. He would never admit it, but he cried afterwards, worried that it would disappoint Wilbur. Instead, his brother just ruffled his hair and told him to not make it a habit.

“Thomas Watson, you are not skipping school.”

Tommy had to force himself not to flinch at the use of his full-ish name. Usually Techno flip-flopped between calling him Tommy and Theseus, but Thomas? 

He didn’t remember what the use of Thomas meant.

When Wilbur called him Thomas, it meant he was going to be lectured. When Dream used it, it meant he was going to be punished. But Techno? He had no idea what Techno using the name would bring.

“I mean, I don’t really think it’s up to you.” Why did he keep pushing the argument? He would never do something like this with Dream. Then again, he didn’t need to. He already knew all of Dream’s rules and punishments. Technoblade, on the other hand, was a closed book. A closed book that Tommy desperately needed to open.

“I’ll get Tubbo to watch you and report to me. Like a spy.”

That made Tommy hesitate. “I’m going to Tubbo’s school?” No, wait, stay on task. “I don’t care. I’m still not going.”

“ _Thomas_.” Techno was glaring at him now. Good. Well, maybe not good.

Tommy swore he was having heart palpitations. Despite being an english major with pink hair, Technoblade was _scary._ Wilbur’s face was soft and kind, but Techno’s had an edge to it. His eyes were always more squinted, too, like he was silently judging everything. He probably was.

He probably was judging Tommy, actually.

Tommy shifted in his position, moving up to his knees to be (somewhat) more level with Techno. “ _Technoblade_.” He tried to send back the same glare.

“You’re going to school.” His voice was firmer now. Sharper, like his face.

“I’m not.”

“This conversation is pointless,” He was getting more annoyed, it was so clear to tell, “And in the end, it doesn’t matter. You’re going to school regardless.”

“Oh? And what if I don’t?” Tommy challenged, moving slightly closer into Techno’s personal space.

He wasn’t sure where he went wrong, because the glare melted off Techno’s face and was immediately replaced with concern. 

“What do you think I’m going to do, Theseus?” Tommy had heard his middle name more in the last week than he had in his entire life. He hated it.

“I don’t know, Technoblade.” Tommy groaned. “What _are_ you going to do?” His voice had a nervous edge to it now, which he hated. That wasn’t what he wanted, he wanted to sound… Well, annoying. Like an annoying kid. It should have been easy, since he _was_ an annoying kid.

“I… I’m not going to hurt you. You know that, right?” The edge of his voice had melted into a soft concern.

Did Tommy know that? Deep down, maybe. Did he believe it? Not for a second.

He just wanted to get it over with. It had taken Dream three days before he slapped him, and it slowly got worse from there, but at least Tommy knew what those punishments were like. How much they would hurt (for the most part).

In Technoblade’s home, however? Tommy had no _idea_ what was coming to him. He just wanted Techno to hit him already, just so Tommy could gauge if it would be worth it to act out, how many rules he could break. He had already broken several, he was sure, but he hadn’t been hit yet, so what was Techno waiting for?

Maybe the same thing Dream would wait for?

“CPS only comes once a year, you know. And they, like, _just_ visited. You have time.”

It was supposed to be reassuring, at least somewhat. But instead Techno looked… He looked horrified. Tommy wanted to move back, apologize for his mistakes, but he stayed firm. Horror could lead to a punishment, too, right? 

“You don’t… Tell me that Dream didn’t tell you that. Tell me that wasn’t the only reason he wouldn’t always hit you.”

Tommy’s eyes darted around the apartment for a moment, unsure of how to respond. What would make Techno most mad? Telling him that Dream did all that, surely. But that would also be bad-mouthing Dream, which he most definitely did _not_ want to do. “I’m just saying. Nobody would even know.” He paused, then added, “Especially since I’m not going to go to school.”

“Theseus… Theseus, look at me.” He did so. “I am _never_ going to hit you. Okay? I’m not going to lock you in your room, I’m not going to stop feeding you just because you did something ‘wrong’.” Techno wasn’t lying, especially about that last one. Tommy hated it. Since he moved in, Techno had been forcing Tommy to eat at least two meals a day, and that felt like way too much most of the time. “You… You’re safe here. You know that, right? No one’s going to hurt you anymore. Not as long as I’m here.”

Tommy had gotten into a fight with someone at school when he was younger. Some kid, his age, though much taller than him. He hadn’t stood a chance, even though when he came home he lied and told Wilbur he had totally won the fight.

Wilbur had patched him up afterwards. He had ruffled his hair, and had told him those same words.

That no one was going to hurt Tommy. That he was here.

The funny thing about twins is that they have the same voice.

Tommy’s heart was racing, because for a second Techno was Wilbur, but it wasn’t Wilbur because Wilbur was _dead_ , and Tommy knew he was dead. Wilbur had died four years ago. Wilbur was gone. Wilbur was not here to comfort him.

Tears he could barely feel slipped from the corners of his eyes.

“Can I go to my room?” He asked, more quietly than he had spoken the entire day. His hands were shaking and he could barely breathe.

Techno just looked confused. Of course he did. “Of course, yeah.”

Tommy had pushed himself to his feet, awkwardly balancing on one foot before Techno handed him the crutches. It was embarrassing, honestly, because he didn’t need Techno’s help. He didn’t need anyone’s help. He was a big man. Besides, he could walk with the cast, if he really tried.

He had been told not to do that countless times in the last few days. But sometimes it was easier than dealing with crutches.

“Do you want to be alone?” W- Technoblade asked. 

Tommy nodded, almost too quickly.

He limped off to his room before Techno could ask anything else, practically slamming the door behind him.

Dream would have screamed at him for slamming the door. Dream wasn’t here anymore, though. This wasn’t Tommy’s old room. 

And Tommy was okay with that. Not that his old room was bad, because he was incredibly grateful for it. It was a very nice thing for Dream to give him, but…

His new room was admittedly average-sized, but he didn’t mind at all. It had soft carpet floors, and the walls were painted a light grey (though Techno said they could repaint it to a fun color at a later date). There was a desk pushed into one corner of the room, with a lamp, Tommy’s backpack, and a whole mess of other things piled on top of it. On the opposite side of the room was Tommy’s bed; a twin-sized mattress with blue pillowcases and a mis-match of several blankets thrown over top. 

A dresser was placed next to his bed, filled with clothes that Techno and Puffy had bought him while he was away. On top of the dresser sat the nerf gun and a few various knicknacks Tubbo had brought him, as well as the stuffed bee Phil had gotten him when he was a kid, and a CD player he had yet to use.

Finally, on the walls of the room, were two posters, one of Mario Kart, and one of Minecraft, a game Tommy had never played. Okay, technically it was wrong to say there were _only_ two posters, because Tubbo and him had made several hand-drawn pictures and hung them up. They were messy scribbles, one labeled “big law” with a drawing that vaguely resembled Tubbo as a judge, another with a drawing of a moth labeled ‘Clementine’. 

The whole room was unfamiliar, but not unwanted. It was nice, in a weird way that Tommy hadn’t expected. He couldn’t remember the last time he had owned so many things. 

He flopped down on the bed, ignoring the dull ‘thud’ of the crutches landing on the carpet. He was grateful for them, he really was, but _geez_ were they a pain to use. 

It didn’t take long, maybe thirty minutes, tops, for there to be a quiet knock on the door. At least, Tommy had thought it hadn’t been long, but a glance up at the clock as he pushed himself up to a sitting position confirmed it had been at least thirty minutes.

“Hello?” Tommy groaned, tossing his gaze to the door.

“Tommy? Can I come in?” It was a question, but Tommy knew there wasn’t a choice. Wilbur- Dream- Technoblade would come in, anyway. Still, it was rude not to at least humor him.

“Sure, big man.” The door creaked open, and in stepped Technoblade. “What’s up?”

“Can I sit?” Techno asked, gesturing to the chair at Tommy’s desk.

Tommy nodded in response. He watched as Techno made his way over and sat down. 

“We need to talk about what happened earlier.”

“I really don’t think we do, actually.”

“Tommy,” Techno’s voice was warning.

And suddenly all the want Tommy had earlier was gone. He didn’t want to be hurt, not really. Any calming familiarity that would come with it was overshadowed by the terror that came from the idea of being struck by Technoblade.

Dream had still had a plaster over the bridge of his nose during the trial. Techno had said he had punched him. Surely, Techno wouldn’t go so far to break bones for the very first punishment, but the knowledge that he _could_ scared Tommy despite himself.

Techno cut through the fear. “You look like you’re spacing out a little bit. Can you- are you with me still? Can you breathe for me?”

“I’m fine. What do you want?”

“Theseus, look at me for a moment.” 

Tommy wanted nothing more than to yell at Techno for calling him that. He wanted to glare pointedly at the floor and not move his gaze. Instead, he looked up at his brother, who just kept talking.

“What Dream did to you was wrong. Do you understand that?”

“I…” No, he didn’t. He didn’t understand at all. “Of course I do. I’m not stupid.”

“Tommy, there’s no circumstance in which an adult should hit you. Ever.”

What Techno was saying made sense. It did, it really did, but at the same time the thought made his head spin. Because Dream was a good person, a good guardian. The only one who wanted him. He would never-

The crutches lay on the floor next to the bed. Crutches he had because of Dream. Because of the ankle that Dream broke. Tommy could remember how horrified everyone looked when telling that story, and even when it was happening, Tommy knew it was wrong, but…

He didn’t know. It was weird. It was confusing.

But he was fourteen. He was old enough that he should understand it. So he nodded to what Techno was saying instead of voicing his confusion.

“Honestly, I doubt I’m ever even going to ground you.”

“Really? But I’m a rebellious teenager.”

“First of all, you’re a child-”

“I am four- _t_ _een_ , thank you very much.”

“A _child._ ” Techno repeated. The corners of his mouth tugged upwards, just slightly. 

“A rebellious teen. I could sneak out at any moment to go do drugs.”

“You wouldn’t know where to find drugs, Tommy.”

“Sure I would. I’d ask Tubbo.”

Techno laughed at that. “You think _Tubbo_ knows where to find drugs?”

Tommy couldn’t help but laugh, too.

Maybe he didn’t need to push for punishments. They would come, of course, they always did. But they could come at their own time. Because, for now, Tommy much preferred the comfort that came from getting along.

\----

Tommy must have lost the battle for school, because the next morning, Techno was waking him up bright and early, telling him to get up and get ready for classes.

Tommy ate a bowl of cereal at Techno’s request. He wasn’t hungry at all, insisting that he’d be fine until dinner, but Techno had insisted, and since the night before, Tommy had switched his method from actively pursuing punishment to avoiding it.

“I wish I could take you to school for your first day.” Techno sat across the table from him, also eating cereal, but the boring grown-up stuff Tommy hated. At least Techno would buy him the good sugary cereal instead.

“It’s not really a first day, is it?” He mumbled through a spoonful, “I’m weeks too late for that.”

“It’s _your_ first day. You still have to do all the first day things, don’t you? Get your schedule and stuff?”

Tommy shrugged. “I don’t know if it’s the same in highschool as it was in fifth grade.” It was strange to think that the moment his entire life changed was four whole years ago. Four years since Wilbur died. Four years since Dream took Tommy in. Four years since Tommy moved to a new state and had to frantically try to catch up in school.

“No matter, Tubbo said he’d love to help you. I told you Schlatt was driving you two, didn’t I?”

“We can’t walk?” Tommy had never lived far enough away from school to need a bus or even a car ride. 

Techno stared at him, incredulously.

Tommy stared back, before it clicked. 

He had a broken ankle. Techno had turned out to be overprotective. Even though Tommy could walk just fine (though his armpits had gotten a little bruised in the last few days due to the crutches), of course he wasn’t allowed to walk to school.

“It’s too far to walk, anyway. Schlatt said he could take you two for the first week, and then you’ll take the bus after that.”

“Isn’t Schlatt some business guy? Shouldn’t he be at work?”

Techno just shrugged. “He said he could come in late and wouldn’t get in trouble”

“Techno?”

“Yeah?”

“Do I really have to go?”

“Yeah, you do.” Techno sighed. He didn’t sound disappointed, just tired.

Techno had looked tired for as long as Tommy could remember, but he looked more tired now. Like it was deeper, somehow. Tommy wondered if it was his fault- if all the adoption stuff was stressing him out. Tommy tried to be good (for the most part), but maybe it wasn’t enough.

“I have to go to work, you know. I can’t just leave you home alone.”

“You could, actually. I’m a big man.”

“Fourteen.” Techno retorted. 

“Practically an adult.”

“ _Fourteen_.”

“Dream left me home alone all the time.” Sometimes he forgot that Techno didn’t think Dream was the best example of a good guardian. What was a good example? “Wilbur would, too, sometimes.”

“Wilbur left you home alone? You were, like, six.” He sounded taken aback.

Tommy shrugged. “I was _seven_. And he only did it when he had to go to meetings.”

Techno’s face scrunched up a little at that. “What meetings?”

Oops.

Tommy wasn’t supposed to say.

Wilbur… He wasn’t an alcoholic. Tommy hadn’t even known what that word meant at the time, though he learned later on. At the time, Tommy didn’t even know Wilbur was addicted to anything. Looking back, however, and remembering how his hands would shake and how he’d leave every few hours to go smoke, it was painfully obvious.

Wilbur started to go to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings a year after they moved out. He didn’t call them that at the time. Tommy couldn’t remember what Wilbur referred to them as, actually, and the thought made his heart hurt, because he couldn’t _already_ be forgetting things. It was too soon, he couldn’t lose the memory of his brother yet. No way.

What he _did_ remember, however, was how Wilbur took him into his room after the first meeting. How Wilbur sat him onto his bed and talked about how he was starting a twelve-step program.

He remembered Wilbur making him put a hand to his chest and made him swear on his life that he wouldn’t tell anyone about them. Not his teachers, not his school friends, not Techno.

Even if it felt silly now, unimportant, even, Tommy was going to keep that promise.

“Oh, you know. For work stuff.”

“I wasn’t aware he was involved in meetings for work.”

“He… Uh, he was trying to get a promotion. Thought it would help. It didn’t.” He vaguely recalled Wilbur talking about a promotion once. He had been so disappointed when he hadn’t gotten it. Tommy pretended to not hear the angry shouting from the balcony after he was supposed to be asleep.

“Are you sure that was it? Wilbur never told me about going to meetings to get the promotion.”

“Well he didn’t want to tell you. Didn’t… Uh… Want to look over-eager.”

“You’re definitely not using that word right.”

“Didn’t want to look… Um…” Tommy paused, thinking. “Bad.” Easy. Maybe this literature thing wasn’t so hard after all. 

“Bad?” Techno repeated, raising an eyebrow.

“You know, he wanted to impress you, I think. So he didn’t tell you about the meetings.” Tommy sounded unsure, even to himself. This conversation was _not_ going so well.

“Really? Because Wilbur told me everything.” He could see Techno’s expression falter as he started to think about his brother. He did that a lot, Tommy noticed.

“Yeah but he didn’t want to embarrass himself, you know? You got out of college and immediately became this super cool English professor. Wil had to-”

He stopped as he heard the quiet rapping of someone’s hand on the front door.

Tubbo. What a godsend. Because Tommy had just been digging this hole deeper the more he talked, and now he had an excuse to leave. Even if that excuse was that he had to go to school. 

“That’s my ride.” Tommy pushed his chair back and stood, nearly toppling over as he tried to balance. He grabbed the crutches and tucked them underneath his arms once again.

“Do you have everything you need? Books, notebooks, pencils, paper, calculator-”

“I’ve got it all.” He pulled his backpack off the back of the chair and held it up for Techno to see. The backpack that used to hold all his important belongings now was filled to the brim with school supplies Techno had gotten him. All his important belongings were stashed around Tommy’s room in different hiding spots, places he was sure Techno wouldn’t look.

Tubbo was still knocking. He would do that, just tap his knuckles against the door until someone answered. It could get annoying sometimes, but Tommy personally found it endearing. Er, no, it was clingy, but he put up with it. Yeah, that’s how it was. 

It was a challenge to get the backpack on after he already had crutches tucked under his arms. While he struggled with that, Techno got up to let Tubbo in.

“Tommy!” Was his friends immediate shout, as he rushed over to greet Tommy. The day after Tommy officially moved in, he explained to Tubbo that his name was actually Tommy, and he had just panicked when they had first met. Tubbo didn’t care, only asking what name Tommy preferred to go by. He told him it didn’t matter. Now, Tubbo switched back and forth between the names rapid-fire. 

“Tubbo!” Tommy shouted back. He’d managed to get one backpack strap on without dropping the crutches, now he just had to-

Tubbo slipped the strap off of Tommy’s shoulder, pulling the bag out of his hands.

“I’ll carry your stuff, don’t worry.”

“Like a pack mule.”

“Well if you’re going to be rude about it-”

“No, Tubbo!” Tommy shouted in mock-despair. “I’m sorry!”

Tubbo snorted, swinging the backpack easily over his own shoulder. Show-off. Tommy couldn’t wait to get his cast off. “Are you ready to go?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Great. Schlatt’s already waiting in the car.”

Tommy was just a little wary of Schlatt. Not him as a person so much as his driving skills. Granted, he’d never seen the man drive, but judging by his personality, he thought he would be an awful driver. 

“Great.” Tommy replied. They made it halfway out the door before Tommy remembered-

He was supposed to say when he was leaving. To be polite about it. To tell Dream goodbye, where he was going, and when he would be back.

Not Dream. Not Dream. Technoblade. Techno already knew where he was going (school) and when he’d be back (around three-thirty-ish). So, instead, Tommy turned back.

“Bye, Techno. I’ll see you later, I guess?”

Techno nodded. “Have a good day at school. And if you need anything, call me, okay?”

Tommy didn’t have a phone. “Okay.”

And then they were off. It was going great until they got to the stairs. Four flights of stairs was usually no big deal, but considering Tommy was still very inexperienced with crutches, it was a little bit of a big deal.

“Want me to carry you?”

“Do _not_ carry me, you prick!” 

Tubbo snorted. “I’m just saying it’d be faster. I could totally carry you.”

“Could not.”

“Could, too.”

“You’re half my height. My feet would drag on the ground.”

“I’d carry you bridal style.”

Tommy gave him a look.

It was times like these he really wished the building had an elevator. But no, because apparently disability codes (or whatever they were called) meant nothing to the architects of the building. 

It took them a good ten minutes to get downstairs, with Tubbo always a few steps in front of Tommy, promising to catch him if he fell. He slipped a few times, and Tubbo did have to catch him once, but they made it down in one piece. Or, two pieces. Whatever.

If either boy had thought about it slightly longer, they would have realized that Tommy could have scooted down the stairs, or used Tubbo as a support. But no matter, they made it down alright, and they’d have plenty more days to figure it out.

Besides, now, they had a bigger problem to worry about.

The “bigger problem” was school.


	2. you know, i had the same conversation with your mother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter for today. I think they'll start getting longer the more we get into the plot,,, at least I hope so?

It took two days of staying with Techno and Tommy for Phil to leave. Techno was surprised that it took that long.

When they were kids, Phil would always pass over Tommy, usually shutting the kid out or ignoring him altogether. Now, Phil would hesitate before passing the kid over. The despair in his eyes was so clear every single time he looked at the child.

Techno couldn’t blame him for wanting to leave. It was… A lot to handle. Everything. Techno had been dealing with the guilt of handing Tommy back to Dream. He couldn’t imagine how Phil felt, having been the one to hand Tommy over in the first place.

At least the kid didn’t seem upset about Phil’s absence. He barely even seemed to notice, actually, which Techno brushed off rather quickly.

Everything was…

Well, it would be a lie to say everything was fine now. Despite how much he would love to say it was. Because it wasn’t.

Techno was far behind on work. He’d cashed in four of his vacation days to deal with getting the house ready for Tommy. When he saw the state Tommy was in when he picked him up, he used the rest of his vacation days as well as all of his sick days to get a week off to spend with Tommy. It was only right to not leave him alone again, not after everything he had been through.

Tommy was clearly still in pain, too. Despite him claiming to be fine, Technoblade could see how he winced as he walked. And the kid kept pushing anyway, swearing to Techno that he didn’t even need crutches. Of course, Techno told him off for that more times than he could count, trying desperately to explain to him that if he kept doing that, it wouldn’t heal.

He couldn’t push for the use of crutches as much as he’d like, though. Every time he raised his voice Tommy shrunk back, and Techno wanted to avoid that as much as possible. He needed to prove to Tommy that it was safe here.

On top of everything else, Techno's nightmares kept getting worse.

They became less nightmares and more tight terrors, considering he could barely remember what had happened in them once he woke up. He knew the general idea of them, though, considering it seemed to be the same thing every night. Wilbur would die, then Tommy would die. Dream show up at some point, usually to hurt Tommy. He couldn’t remember much past that.

He thought Tommy hadn’t noticed it, considering he hadn’t woken Techno up from them. However, when Techno would wake, there was always a warm cup of tea on his nightstand, and he didn’t have to be smart to know who put it there.

Neither would mention it in the mornings.

Occasionally, Techno would still argue with Tommy. They _were_ brothers, after all. It was human nature, honestly. No angry arguments, for the most part. Just over little things, the way Techno cooked potatoes, or how Tommy left his shoes on the floor.

At least, that’s all the arguments were, up until the argument about school.

Of _course_ Tommy had to go to school. Techno was literally a college professor, did Tommy really think Techno wouldn’t care whether or not he went? Sure, the kid might’ve been nervous about school, but he still had to go. But Tommy had pushed and pushed and pushed, and Techno had raised his voice in return. He shouldn’t have, and seeing the spark of fear in Tommy’s eyes diminished his anger immediately.

But then Tommy had tried to explain to him that it was fine if Techno hit him. That CPS wouldn’t come for a while, so no one would know.

He swore he felt his heart break all over again.

He tried his best to explain to Tommy that he wasn’t going to hurt him, that he was here for the kid, but that only seemed to make it worse. Tommy went from slightly terrified to on the verge of tears, and he quickly fled to his own room.

Techno came by shortly after to apologize (though for exactly what, he wasn’t sure), as well as to assure Tommy that it wasn’t his fault. He mentioned that what Dream had done was wrong, as he had done practically every day since Tommy moved in. He hoped that if he kept repeating the words, eventually Tommy would believe them. So far, he hadn’t.

\----

  
  


Techno hadn’t expected to be so nervous for Tommy’s first day. He felt like… Like a parent, honestly. It was painfully domestic. He wondered if this was how Wilbur felt whenever he sent Tommy off to school.

Gosh, Techno wished he had been there more for the kid growing up. Sure, he would help out occasionally when Wilbur was busy, or when Wilbur was having a screaming match with Phil. But otherwise? Techno had considered Tommy nothing more than a nuisance. He’d barely even paid attention to the child. 

If he had, maybe he would know how to deal with this easier. Because even though he knew kids weren’t supposed to act like Tommy did, he had no real baseline for how Tommy acted before Dream took him. 

Tommy had been loud. Annoying. Tommy had made it incredibly difficult for Techno to study for school. He was also… Courageous. Yeah, courageous. And completely unapologetic.

Techno wondered when he lost that courage. When he started apologizing for every single thing he did. Had Dream trained that into him?

He wished he had said ‘I love you’ to Tommy before he left. Even though he wouldn’t have really meant it- he hadn’t even said it to Phil in years- he still thought it would’ve been nice. Words of encouragement, even if they were, overall, meaningless.

It was too late for that now, though, as he and Tubbo had already scrambled out the door and on their way to school. And that meant…

Crap. Techno was already late for work.

He didn’t bother grabbing the dishes off the table, he could wash those later. He yanked on his shoes and pulled on a wrinkled dress-shirt, frantically trying to button it.

He was so late. He couldn’t be late. This was supposed to be his first day back in almost two weeks of not teaching class. He couldn’t afford to be late, not only for his students, but for his job in general. He pulled a sweater over the dress-shirt and practically ran to his car.

It took twenty minutes to drive from his house to the university, which gave him time to think about everything that had been going on the last month or two. 

And it was at some point during that drive that everything sunk in.

Techno was really adopting a child. Permanently. Not even just _a_ child, but his _brother_. His _kid_ brother, who was only fourteen and had been through more trauma than one person should have to experience in a lifetime.

He had no idea how to deal with the trauma. How to help it, or treat it, or whatever one was supposed to do with it.

Maybe this was a bad idea.

Techno… Techno was not cut out to be a parental figure. He wasn’t like Schlatt, who found a way to balance work and raising a kid. He wasn’t like Phil, who took his kids on adventures all across the world. He wasn’t like Sam and Puffy, who had dropped everything to take care of Tommy in those few days.

Techno was just Techno. He had no idea how to deal with kids in general, much less kids with issues like Tommy had.

He was not qualified for this. He was _not_ qualified at all for this. He was taking care of himself fine, sure, but having to take care of a whole new human? By himself?

But he had promised Tommy he’d take care of him. Besides, he owed this to Wilbur, didn’t he? 

He did.

Which meant he still had a lot of work cut out for him.

Maybe he could research how to deal with trauma in children? Was Tommy even considered traumatized? Certainly he was, after everything. But Techno didn’t know exactly what counted, and gosh, he should have done all this research days ago, and not now, while he was pulling into the university parking lot.

He didn’t want to go to work. Not when there was still so much he needed to do to help Tommy.

Techno took a deep breath. This was fine. He could manage it. But first- work.

The lectures were fine. For the most part, anyway. There were a few questions on his absence from some students, but he did his best to wave off or even ignore it. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to answer the questions- well, he didn’t, but more importantly, he didn’t want to think about Tommy at the moment.

Not when the thought of Tommy sent him spiraling into anxiety over just how unprepared he was to do what he had agreed to.

The rest of his teaching went by in a blur of what could be considered monologuing, only occasionally pausing to answer questions from students, and before he knew it, the work day was over.

Well, the teaching-classes part was over. He still had several hours to work on getting assignments ready and prepping future classes. The work of a teacher was never finished. 

Not teacher, professor. Doctor, even. He had worked hard for his degree, not even he should trivialize the work he had put into it with cheap titles.

Once he was in his office, he dumped another pile of papers on his desk and sat down. He grabbed a pen, and was about to work on reading through essays when the object slipped from his fingers. And then...

Uh…

Huh. That was weird.

It was like he completely blanked out for a second. Only for a second, though, because he felt completely fine now. Maybe a little tired, but he had been teaching all day.

Whatever, he brushed it off quickly. He had work to do, and only a few hours before Tommy would be home. 

Someone knocked on his office door.

“Uh, come in?”

Slowly, the door was pushed open, and in walked one of his students. One of the more quiet ones, but he always had good work. What his name? Cooper? No, that wasn’t it.

“Hi, Professor.”

“Connor.” That was it. He hoped it was his name, anyway. “Can I help you with something?”

“No. Well, yes, no, I-” Connor paused, then handed him a folded piece of paper. No, not a piece of paper, a card. “Someone said you were sick and that’s why you weren’t teaching, so I got you a get well card.”

“Huh…” That was odd. He really hadn’t expected that. “Uh, thanks. But I wasn’t sick.” He didn’t mean for it to come off so harshly, but it did anyway.

“Oh…”

Techno didn’t have to be good at reading body language to tell the guy was uncomfortable.

“Just dealing with family issues. I… I do appreciate it, though.”

“Family issues? Is everything okay?”

Techno forced himself to nod. “It’s getting better.” He paused, then, “Did you have any school-related questions, or was it just the card?” It wasn’t that he was upset or anything, he just didn’t want to unload all the stuff he had been dealing with on this college student.

“Oh, just the card. I’ll… I’ll go now.”

“Okay. I’ll see you in my next lecture.”

“Yeah, yeah, see you.”

He ignored the dejected look on Connor’s face and instead set his attention on the stack of essays in front of him. There was a frankly ridiculous amount to read. He really needed to get working on that.

Instead of reading through the essays, he pulled out his phone and clicked on Phil’s contact, listening to the quiet ringing while he waited for Phil to pick up.

Calling Phil was a waste of time. Phil was just as lost on how to deal with Tommy as Techno was. Maybe even more, actually, because Phil still struggled to look the kid in the eyes. Asking Phil for advice was like asking a soldier how to do ballet. 

He wasn’t sure where that example came from. 

“Hey, mate, how’s it going?” Phil’s voice came out from the phone speakers. Techno set it on the desk.

“Just been busy. ‘S Tommy’s first day at school. I can’t tell if he’s nervous or not.”

“You were always nervous for the first day. Maybe he takes after you.”

“I don’t know,” He admitted, “I think it’s a lot different for him than it was for me.”

“Come on, Techno. You think he’s not worried about how people perceive him? Granted, he might be a little more social than you, but…” He trailed off with a laugh. 

“Okay, in my defense, I had good reason to be worried. I was a nerd in high school.”

Phil snorted at that. “Only in high school?” He teased. 

“Oh, shut up.”

“He… Tommy’s a good kid. I’m sure he’ll make friends.” Techno didn’t miss the waver in his father’s voice.

“But what if he doesn’t?”

“He will.”

“He’s a beanpole of a kid running around on crutches. His only friend is Tubbo. He’s going to get bullied, I can feel it-”

“Techno, take a deep breath. He’ll be fine.”

“What if he isn’t? Kids are cruel, what if-”

“Techno.” Phil repeated, his voice not stern, but in a clear I’m-your-father-listen-to-me kind of tone. “You know, I had the same conversation with your mother on your and Wilbur’s first day of middle school?”

“You did?”

He wasn’t expecting that. Not Phil being a mother-hen, because he always had been. But Phil talking about mom? He never did that. 

“I did.” He laughed again, but it was so much softer than before as he recalled what must have been a fond memory. “She assured me that you’d be fine, that you two would protect each other. And she was right, you really did.”

He wished he still had Wilbur to protect him.

“But Tommy doesn’t have a twin.” Techno hadn’t meant to address that issue out loud, but it obviously was too late to take it back.

“No,” Phil agreed, “But he has Schlatt’s kid.”

Techno almost laughed at the thought. “Tubbo? He’s tiny, I don’t know if he could protect anyone.”

“I don’t know, I think the kid could be pretty scary if he tried. I mean, he has to have some semblance of gremlin energy to keep up with Tommy, right?”

Techno had overheard a few jokes shared by the two kids. He noticed the way they fit into talking almost seamlessly. He noticed how much calmer Tommy seemed around Tubbo, even calmer than he was with Techno on some days.

“You’re right, I’m probably just overreacting.”

“Not overreacting.” Phil reassured. “You’re nervous. It’s perfectly normal for a parent to… Oh…” Ah, the sadness was back. “I guess I should be the one worried for him, not you, shouldn’t I?”

To say that Phil had regretted how he treated Tommy was an understatement. He had sobbed to Techno about it the night after the court case. Techno comforted him the best he could, which wasn’t very good, but at least he tried. But it was hard, because he couldn’t say anything like ‘you tried your best’ or anything of the sort, because, in all honesty, it _was_ Phil’s fault. Yes, he was grieving, but he still had ignored his son.

Techno wasn’t exempt from that. He had done the same thing to Tommy. The only difference was that he was an older brother and not a father, but considering how Wilbur had stepped up to the plate as soon as he realized that Phil wasn’t going to do it, Techno didn’t really have an excuse.

At least he was trying to be better.

“No, it’s alright. I have custody of him now, so it’s kind of my job to worry, not yours.”

Not that Phil wasn’t trying to be better. He was, he just… He didn’t know how to. He panicked when he was around Tommy, and it was so painfully obvious that he was uncomfortable with the whole situation. It was like Phil walked on eggshells when he was around Tommy, and that seemed to freak Tommy out, too.

So for now, Phil had gone home, with the promise that he would try again soon. Leaving Techno to care for Tommy alone.

He vaguely wondered what Phil’s definition of ‘soon’ was. 

“I guess.” Phil didn’t sound convinced. He sounded uncomfortable more than anything else. “I should get back to work. You gonna be alright with Tommy for tonight?”

“You ask like he hasn’t already been here a week.”

“It’s been that long already?”

Techno nodded slightly despite the fact Phil couldn’t see it. “About so, yeah. It… It’s been hard, honestly.”

“How so?”

“He’s just… Nervous, I think. I keep having to tell him that I’m not-” His voice cracked, just slightly, “Not going to hurt him. It’s just that no matter how many times I say he, he never seems to believe me.”

“Still?”

“Yeah… Yesterday, he…” Techno paused, debating whether or not to say what he was going to. He knew it would hurt Phil, but it was also important for Phil to realize what his son was going through. “He told me that CPS wouldn’t visit for a while, as if that was the only thing keeping me from hitting him or whatever.”

“Oh, Techno…”

“I just don’t know what to do.” He buried his head in his hands, taking a few deep breaths.

“I’ll do some research for you, see what I can come up with. Have you considered taking him to a therapist?”

“I have, but I doubt he’ll actually want to go. He’s so stubborn.”

“He must get it from you. Again, I’ll look into some things, see what I can do.” 

He could come and stay at Techno’s place for a few days. He could actually speak to his son. But no, he’d research. Techno wondered if that was really enough for Phil, or if he just didn’t know what to do.

“Alright. Well, I have essays to go through…”

“Right, right. I’ll talk to you later, mate.”

“Later.”

He hung up.

The next several hours were spent reading through essays. Some were great, some were… Mediocre. Considering they were part way through the second semester of the year, all of his students should be writing decently by now, but apparently not.

His mind wandered to Tommy’s grades. Was he any good at writing? He couldn’t remember. Oh, maybe that was another way to work on his trust- helping him with school. Granted, Techno wasn’t the best at math, but english was his strong suit, he could do that.

He made a mental note to ask Tommy about that when he got home.

After going through a few more little things, he packed his things to go home. Schlatt was taking Tubbo and Tommy home and promised that if Techno had to stay late, Tommy could hang out at their house until he got home.

There was a silent agreement between them to not leave Tommy alone. They weren’t sure why, not really. It wasn’t like Dream was going to show up at their house or anything, obviously, he couldn’t. It wasn’t even about the thought of Tommy getting into trouble, they just…

The kid had clearly been left alone a lot by Dream. Not even just physically, but emotionally. It was important to remind him that there were people that cared. And the best way to remind him was to be physically there for him.

Once Techno got to his car, he sent Schlatt a quick text to let Tommy know he’d be home soon.

He really should buy Tommy his own phone. Tomorrow, he decided, he’d do that. He’d have to tell Tommy about it before, of course, especially since that was what this whole ordeal apparently had been caused from.

The thought that a phone had caused Tommy to end up at Techno’s house still horrified him. His brother, his _baby brother_ had been physically harmed all because he wanted to text his friends. And Dream, the man who was supposed to protect him, decided to hurt him for it. It was insane. Techno wished he had killed the guy when he got the chance.

Revenge could come later. Would come later, probably. Dream was only in there for five years, which was way too short, surely Techno could do something afterwards.

Just the thought of Dream hurting Tommy made him angry. Not only that, but the fact that Techno and Phil had been _complicit_ in everything. It made him sick. It made him-

He almost missed the turn to his apartment parking, being so caught up in his thoughts.

He parked the car and quickly headed up the stairs to get Tommy from Schlatt’s. 

This was going to be okay. Life was going to get better for Tommy. It would take time, of course it would, but eventually they’d get there, right?

Techno hoped so, anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> psst, if y'all have any theories/thoughts/questions/whatever about the story, you should put them in the comments. I love talking to you guys and your comments really motivate me to keep writing faster


	3. you two fight like an old married couple

Despite how Tommy acted, he actually didn’t dislike school. Granted, there were classes he would always despise, especially science, but for the most part, he enjoyed it.

School was an escape from Dream. No, no, that was a rude way to put it. It wasn’t an _escape_ , it was just… A place where he could be with other people. That was a weird way to phrase it… He liked Dream, he did, really. It was just sometimes he could be a bit overwhelming. It was nice to be somewhere else for a little while.

He should’ve asked Techno what his rules for grades were before he left.

Dream cared a lot about his grades. Something about how he was ‘representing Dream’s parenting’ or something like that. Whatever it was, it meant that Tommy was supposed to get all A’s, maybe B+’s if Dream was feeling particularly lenient. If not, he’d get punished.

If there was any correlation between being punished for bad grades and Tommy learning to cheat on tests, he pretended not to notice it.

He was walking down the school hallway next to Tubbo, who was clutching Tommy’s schedule in his hand.

“We actually have mostly the same classes.” Tubbo explained, gesturing to the list. “Except for science and English. And electives.”

“I have electives? I didn’t get to choose any…”

“You’re in… Computer… Something.” Tubbo said, squinting at the words before holding it up to Tommy.

“Computer science. But I didn’t choose it.”

Tubbo shrugged. “Maybe it was the only empty class? Since you’re joining so late in the year.”

“I guess. Whatever, which class is first?”

“English. But you’re in the class above me, so I don’t know what you’re doing. Probably going over a reading though, that’s what we’re doing in my class, anyway. But I guess you haven’t read it yet.” Tubbo pulled the door to the classroom open. “Don’t worry, I’m sure the teacher will be understanding.”

If they hadn’t gotten there late, everyone probably wouldn’t have stared at them. But it was five minutes after class started (thanks to Tommy’s slow walking) and as soon as Tubbo opened the door, all eyes were on them. Once Tommy was inside, Tubbo gave him a quick whisper of ‘good luck’ before running off to his own class.

The teacher was not understanding. She wrote him a tardy note and told him not to make it a habit before sending him back to a desk.

Tommy silently thanked his lucky stars that he wasn’t forced to introduce himself and was able to find a seat in the back of the class. 

Usually he wasn’t one of those kids to sit in the very back, but he didn’t really feel like being seen. 

Tommy took a few deep breaths. This was okay. He could survive this. It wasn’t like he had never been to school before, he just hadn’t been in a while.

He missed his old friends. Freddy and the rest of the lot. Even if they had encouraged him to break rules and get in trouble, they were good kids. Tommy hadn’t even gotten to say goodbye. He wondered if they would know what happened to him, or if he had just disappeared one day and that was it.

Maybe he could ask Tubbo if he could borrow his phone to text them… Not now, though. Not when the teacher was saying something about a project based on the reading. Right, the reading that he hadn’t done.

He’d ask afterwards if he could be excused.

“Now, this will be a mandatory group project, so everyone, choose a partner and move your desks into groups.”

Oh. Apparently not.

Everyone was looking around the room and moving to who Tommy presumed were their friends. Which left Tommy awkwardly sitting by himself.

Great.

“Hey, you. Crutches. Yes, _you_.” A harsh voice spoke. “You don’t have a partner?”

“...No, not really.”

They laughed. “You should join the memory boy over there.” The guy pointed at some kid sitting in the back corner, paying them no mind. He looked… Scared out of his mind, honestly. It was almost pathetic. Tommy very nearly felt bad for him.

“I… Okay.” That gained more laughter. Tommy couldn’t find it in himself to care. He pulled his backpack over a shoulder then made his way over to ‘memory boy’.

Memory boy didn’t seem to notice him, too caught up in scribbling something out in a notebook. His hair was dark black with streaks of white, and it was cut into a mullet, though whether that was a purposeful choice or he just needed a haircut, Tommy wasn’t sure. Memory boy was also tan, though he had splotches of skin which looked… Lighter? That was strange, but Tommy didn’t comment on it. He was rude, but not a complete jerk. 

Memory boy also looked incredibly uncomfortable.

Tommy dropped his backpack down on the desk next to him before sitting down, though not letting go of the crutches.

“You have a partner yet?”

“Uh… No?”

“You want one?”

“I usually work alone on group projects. It’s, uh, no big deal, really. We have an uneven number of students in class, so…”

Tommy stared at him for a moment.

He had two options here: Leave this poor kid alone and work on the project himself, or keep terrifying the guy and get help with the assignment.

Considering he had no idea what book the project was supposed to be based on, much less what they actually had to do, Tommy chose the first option.

“I’m new here, actually. So I guess it’s even now.”

Memory boy looked up at him for a moment. “Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘oh’.” He hated how disappointed the guy looked at him. It wasn’t like Tommy had done anything wrong. Had he? No, nothing he could think of. 

“Well… In that case, hi, I’m Ranboo.”

“Did… Did you say ‘Ranboob’?”

“No, no, Ran _boo_. Like, you know, ‘boo, I’m scaring you’?”

Tommy snorted. “Sure thing, Ran _boob_. I’m Tommy.”

They stared at each other for a long moment. 

“So… Why do they call you memory boy?”

“What?”

“That’s how they referred to you. Those guys over there.” Tommy gestured vaguely to the group of guys who had been laughing.

Ranboo just sighed. “They’re jerks.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah… It’s- it’s whatever, doesn’t matter. Have you read the book yet?”

“I don’t even know what book we’re supposed to have read.”

“Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury.”

“I’ve literally never heard of that in my life.”

Ranboo stared at him again. “I’ll lend you my copy.”

“I don’t want your pity book.”

“My what?” 

Their stilting conversation continued throughout the rest of the class. Ranboo did his best to explain the plot of the book, something about firefighters and banned books, but he clearly didn’t remember much of what happened. Considering neither boy really understood the book, nor the project, they quickly fell into discussing other topics. Mostly comics and video games.

He lost track of time talking to Ranboo. It actually was sort of nice. Especially since he didn’t have to worry about Dream telling him he couldn’t talk to the kids at school.

He didn’t have to worry about that with Techno, right? Techno let him hang out with Tubbo all the time, but would Ranboo be a different case? He hoped not.

The bell rang. Ranboo stood up, and it was at that moment Tommy realized just how tall he was. Tommy himself was around five-foot-eight, inches above everyone else. This kid had to be five-eleven, maybe even six feet tall.

Ranboo looked down at him. “What’s your next class?”

“Good question.” He reached into his backpack to find his schedule, only to come out empty handed. “Tubbo has my schedule.”

“Tubbo? I know him, he’s in my math class. We can go find him real quick if you need.”

Tommy nodded to that and stood, carefully balancing on one foot as he struggled with his backpack and crutches again. How much longer till he got the cast off? The doctors had said two months, and it had been… Less than two weeks. 

“I can take your backpack if you want.” Ranboo suggested, already reaching for it.

Tommy jerked it away quickly out of habit, nearly losing balance and falling over. Reasonably, he knew this guy wasn’t going to take his stuff. But Dream had, and it was instinct at this point for Tommy to try and protect his property.

“Or… Not. Sorry.”

Tommy pulled the backpack over his shoulder and tucked the crutches under his arms. “You said you know what class Tubbo’s in?” 

“Yeah. He’s probably heading to history right now, come on, I’ll take you.”

It turned out that the three had the same history and math classes. It also turned out that Ranboo and Tubbo already knew each other and were vaguely friends. The three ended up sitting together in class, Ranboo taking notes, Tubbo scribbling something on his paper, and Tommy… Not really paying attention at all.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to pay attention. Not that he particularly did, but he knew grades were important. It was just he had no idea anything the teacher was going on about. Apparently that’s what missing two months of school did to a person.

He’d have to ask Ranboo for notes, maybe. Or just talk to the teacher… No, he’d ask for notes.

Lunch came next, followed by the rest of his classes, which passed quickly and without too much trouble. He was alone in science, as well as his very last class, computer science, but he didn’t mind. Tubbo promised to meet him outside the classroom once it was finished, anyway.

Despite having very little interaction with computers, he still really liked them. Plus, they were going over something about programming.

Granted, Tommy knew nothing about programming, but he still found it interesting, even if he had missed a month of class.

Most people didn’t talk to him. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. At his old school, he didn’t talk to many people, but at least they didn’t seem to flat out ignore him. He wondered if anyone had even noticed he was missing. Surely someone had at this point, even if it was just Freddy or someone. Would they miss him? Probably not. Dream had said they hadn’t really cared about him, and Dream was usually right.

The bell rang, catching Tommy off-guard. He had to hold back a flinch and just pray nobody had noticed. It looked like they hadn’t, though, because everyone was already rushing out of class as Tommy once again struggled to his feet.

He was surprised to not be met with Tubbo and Ranboo when he walked out of the door.

They left him. They abandoned him. Dream was right, nobody cared except him, he should’ve stayed where he was, shouldn’t have run away-

They were making their way down the hallway, talking. Tommy wasn’t sure why his first thought was that they left him, nor why that freaked him out so much. He elected to ignore that and make his way over to his friends (friends, plural? Or friend and Ranboo. He wasn’t sure). 

“Tommy!” Tubbo shouted, running over to greet him. Tubbo had been surprisingly fine with the fact that Tommy had lied to him about his name, though he still switched back and forth regularly between ‘Tommy’ and ‘Theo’, Tommy didn’t really mind.

“Tubbo!” Tommy shouted back. Tubbo was with him in a moment, Ranboo close behind.

“I was telling Ranboo that we could- here, give me your backpack- give him a ride home.” Tubbo slipped Tommy’s backpack off of Tubbo’s shoulders.

He wasn’t going to steal it. It was just so Tommy could walk easier. He had to keep reminding himself of that.

“And I was telling Tubbo that it wasn’t a big deal, I can walk just fine.” Ranboo replied. Tubbo taking Tommy’s backpack might’ve felt like a bigger deal if Ranboo wasn’t currently carrying Tubbo’s backpack as well as his own.

“It’s a mile away!”

“A mile is forever!”

“It’s a twenty minute walk!”

Tommy just rolled his eyes and started heading for the door. Tubbo and Ranboo followed, continuing to argue all the way.

“You two fight like an old married couple.” Tommy mumbled. He meant it to be quiet, but they both heard and stared at him. For a moment, Tommy was sure he’d screwed up. He hadn’t meant it, it was supposed to be a joke, but clearly they took it the wrong way, and… Oh. They burst out laughing.

They got into Schlatt’s car after a brief argument over who got to ride shotgun. Tubbo, because he was Schlatt’s son, Ranboo, because he was tallest, or Tommy, because he was injured.

Ranboo won.

Schlatt looked… A little annoyed to bring Ranboo home. Maybe not annoyed, but… Tommy wasn’t sure what, actually. But it made him nervous. Was Tubbo going to get in trouble for giving Ranboo a ride? Schlatt seemed cool, and Tubbo didn’t look nervous at all.

It would probably be fine. They dropped Ranboo off at his house and headed back to the apartment complex.

“So, Tommy, how was your first day of school?” Schlatt asked, and Tommy could barely hear it over the blasting radio.

He just shrugged in response. “It was okay. Nothing exciting.”

“Nothing? No fights? No… Prom? I- I really don’t know what high school kids do.”

“They don’t have... Yeah, Schlatt, no fights or prom. It was really… Uneventful.”

“Good uneventful or bad uneventful?”

“Good. I think.”

“Good.” A pause, then, “I think your brother’s still at work, so if you want to come over and hang with Tubbo you’re more than welcome to.”

Tommy thought about the request for a moment, then shook his head slightly. As much as he would love to spend more time with Tubbo, he needed to get caught up in school as soon as possible. He had a mountain of homework in his backpack that he needed to be done with by… Next week, probably? He wasn’t sure. Dream would’ve wanted it done in a week, so Tommy decided to go by that.

“Can’t, I have homework.”

“What, Tubbo can’t help you?”

“Tubbo can’t read.” He joked. It earned a laugh from Schlatt and a light slap to the arm from Tubbo. Tommy had to hold back a flinch. Of course Tubbo wasn’t going to actually hurt him, but his body didn’t really seem to understand that.

“I can read!” Tubbo shouted.

“I’ve seen the messages you sent me.” Tommy retorted. “You can barely write.”

Tubbo stuck his tongue out at him. Tommy made the same expression back. The argument continued all the way back to the apartment.

Back… Home.

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to call it that yet. He used to call Dream’s house his home, too, and look at how that turned out.

It wasn’t the same. He knew that it wasn’t the same thing, not even close, but he couldn’t help but be wary. After all, Dream hadn’t hurt him from the beginning. And Wilbur…

You weren’t supposed to speak ill of the dead. That was the saying, or something like that. Wilbur was a good guardian. Better than Dream.

But Dream was… Dream was the only one who wanted him… Right? No, no, because Techno and Puffy and Sam and Tubbo… But it wasn’t the same, was it? It was different, the way they showed how they cared. He didn’t know.

It was another reason he wanted to be alone. He wanted to gather his thoughts. 

He didn’t get that chance, since Techno had forgotten to give Tommy a house key and apparently didn’t believe in hiding a spare under the welcome mat. Techno didn’t even _have_ a welcome mat.

Tommy didn’t want to admit he knew how to pick locks to Schlatt, either, so he went with the next best option and hung out with Tubbo until Techno got home.

They stayed in Tubbo’s room working on homework, some video game music playing quietly from Tubbo’s phone. Tommy was sprawled out across the floor, papers spread in front of him. Tubbo sat more respectfully at his desk. 

Two hours after they got back from school, Techno came home. Which meant Tommy could _finally_ go back h- to his room. He liked his room. He gathered his papers and stuffed them in his backpack before heading across the hall to Techno’s apartment.

“How was school?” Techno asked. He was still dressed for work and was currently doing dishes.

“It was good. Kind of boring.”

“Did you make any friends or anything?”

“I met this kid, Ranboo. He’s alright I guess.”

“That’s good, that’s good. How about your classes? Your teachers give you any trouble?” Oh, they were going into it that early. That was fine, Tommy could brush it off. 

“No, everything was fine. But I actually have a bunch of homework, so I’d better start working on it.” He said, making his way to his room as he spoke.

“You know, Tommy, if you want help with anything, I’m sure I could. I teach for a living, so-”

“No thanks, Techno. I appreciate it though.” Tommy quickly closed the door behind him before making it over to his desk.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to spend time with Techno, because he did. His older brother was surprisingly cool. More so than Tommy had realized growing up. But doing homework with him sounded like a nightmare.

He remembered late nights of staying up with Wilbur as he attempted to work through math problems. Wilbur repeating the question to him over and over again, getting more and more frustrated.

Sometimes, Wilbur would shout. And it would remind him of living with Phil. Except at least when they lived with Phil, he could hide from the noise with Techno. When it was just him and Wilbur, he had to take the full force of the shouts. Wilbur would just get so _angry_ , and in return, Tommy would freak out, because he was doing his best and Wilbur just didn’t seem to understand. Wilbur would take breaks from helping to go smoke, or worse, drink. 

Tommy would never admit it, but moments like those made him scared of Wilbur. Which, looking back, was funny, because Wilbur would never actually hurt him. He had never raised a hand to Tommy, even then. Although he wondered if Wilbur ever would have, if he had the chance. 

No, he wouldn’t. Wilbur would never hurt him.

Would Techno?

Tommy couldn’t stop questioning that. It was half of the reason why Tommy didn’t want help with his homework. Because if Wilbur got _that_ frustrated over it, then how would Techno, the man trained in a dozen different ways of fighting, react? Techno was smart, he didn’t need to deal with Tommy’s stupidity.

Hey, he wasn’t stupid. Well… Maybe a little. He did stupid things. Said stupid things. The stupid things would get him punished. He didn’t want to get punished.

His outburst at Technoblade yesterday had been out of stupidity. He wasn’t going to let that happen again if he could help it.

Besides, he could do the homework on his own. Even if he could barely focus on it, and the dull throbbing of his ankle was alway clear in the back of his mind. Maybe he needed more pain meds, but the stuff Dream had given him made him wary of pills. It was fine. He was alright. He could push past it.

It was hard to focus. It was harder to understand what exactly he was supposed to do with the homework. Some questions felt obvious, but others he didn’t know at all. He could guess, maybe? But if he guessed wrong, it would ruin his grades, and he couldn’t risk it.

He had no idea how long it was before Techno knocked lightly on his door. _Lightly_ , he noted, because nothing Techno did seemed to be ‘light’, except when he was trying to be extra nice to Tommy. Tommy may have been stupid, but he wasn’t an idiot. He could tell when his brother was acting out of pity.

“Dinner’s ready.” Techno called. It had become tradition for them to spend each meal together, something about family bonding or whatever.

Tommy suspected it was because Techno wanted to make sure he was eating.

He wasn’t underweight, the doctor was just wrong. Okay, he may have been underweight, but ‘severely’ was going too far. He ate when he was hungry, and had a stash of granola bars underneath his bed to show it.

It’s just that Tommy never seemed to be hungry as of late. He suspected it was because he was eating too much, considering Techno had been forcing him to have at least two meals a day, usually offering him a snack or something in-between, too.

He usually wasn’t hungry for snacks. Wasn’t hungry now, even. He had a month’s work of homework to get through, and-

Oh. Hunger didn’t even matter.

“I haven’t finished homework yet.” Tommy called back. He was glaring down at a question on his paper, as if that would solve his problems.

How could he forget? No food until he finished his homework. Whether he finished that at three in the afternoon or three in the morning, it didn’t matter. That was the rule, that was always the rule. And it made sense, really. Hunger was a good motivator. 

That said, it was going to be a lot later than three AM when Tommy would finish the homework. Three days, he guessed, if he spent all his energy on it. Okay, he could work with that. He’d had worse, probably.

“You can finish it later. Eat now.”

Wasn’t Techno a teacher? Shouldn’t he care more about this than he was? Maybe he didn’t understand just how much homework there was.

“I can’t. I have, like, two months of homework to do.” 

It was more like a month worth, and even then the workload had majorly been cut down for him. He should’ve been more grateful it was so little. If he was still with Dream, he probably would’ve had to do all the homework he’d missed while he was out injured. 

“Tommy,” Techno’s voice was warning. It didn’t have an edge to it like Dream’s, though, which meant Tommy probably wasn’t actually in trouble.

“Okay, okay, a month’s worth. But it’s still a lot.”

“Tommy,” Techno repeated. He opened the door to Tommy’s room. Tommy didn’t look up, still staring down at the question in front of him, re-reading the words as if that would help him understand it.

“I can do it in three days, I think. If I work fast.”

“Theseus.” A hand was on his shoulder. Tommy held back yet another flinch. It wasn’t just _a_ hand, it was _Techno’s_ hand. Techno wasn’t going to hurt him, it was okay. “You don’t have to do it all in a week. Please, just come eat dinner?”

“I’m really not all that hungry…”

Techno had picked up Tommy’s crutches from where they leaned against the table and held them out to Tommy. “Come on, it won’t be very long. You can get back to work after, okay?”

Tommy grumbled about how unfair it was under his breath, but eventually took the crutches from Techno and followed him out into the kitchen.

Dinner was potato soup. Gross. 

Okay, it wasn’t gross, it actually was surprisingly good, but Tommy was so sick of soups, even if it was nice in the cold weather. It seemed to be all that Techno would cook as of late. Tommy much preferred… Pizza. Or burgers or anything other than soup.

Techno must’ve noticed the face Tommy made upon seeing dinner.

“I think we have pasta in the fridge if you want that instead.”

“I already said I wasn’t hungry.” Tommy muttered as he took a seat.

“I know, I know. But you have to eat.”

“Why?”

“You were starved, Tommy.”

“I wasn’t-”

“You have to eat.”

Tommy shot him a glare.

It was funny, honestly. He thought that living with Techno would be all sunshine and rainbows, but it really wasn’t. They still quarreled and argued just like he and Wilbur used to.

He needed to stop comparing Techno to Wilbur. It just made everything feel worse.

“That came off harsher than I meant.” Techno sighed. “I just meant that it’s important for you to eat. You’re a teenage boy, you…” Techno trailed off, staring at something on the table that Tommy couldn’t see.

“Uh… Big man? You here?” Tommy waved a hand in front of his brother’s eyes, and that seemed to snap him out of it.

“You…” He shook his head. Squeezed his eyes shut a few times. Opened them slowly. “You’re supposed to be eating me out of house and home, you know.”

Tommy ignored what he was saying completely. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“You trailed off. Stared at nothing. You good?”

“I’m fine. I just… Zoned out.”

“Since when do you zone out?”

Techno rolled his eyes. “Do you want the soup or pasta?”

“Neither. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m positive. Soup or pasta?”

Tommy stuck his tongue out at Techno. “Soup. But tomorrow _I'm_ cooking."

Techno gave him a look. "Last time I heard about you cooking, you nearly burnt the house down. "

"I was seven and it was an accident! I've gotten better at cooking, I swear. I'll even bring Tubbo, he can be my assistant or something."

Techno pretended to look annoyed, but Tommy could see the smile creeping up on his face. "Sure, Tommy. You can cook tomorrow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there are two wolves inside of you. one knows you have to establish normalcy before conflict. the other wants to write conflict.
> 
> you're speed running the chapters in order to write the conflict sooner


End file.
